Americans Recognize Obamacare’s Religious Liberty Problem

Americans see the problem with the religious liberty violation at the leading edge of Obamacare implementation, according to a new poll released by Rasmussen Reports this week.

The poll shows that by a margin of 46–41, likely American voters support a religious exemption for churches, religious organizations, and businesses from Obamacare’s anti-conscience Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. Sadly, the coercive dictates of the Obamacare bureaucracy don’t hold the same respect for conscience and religious freedom.

The Obamacare anti-conscience mandate, which forces almost all employers to provide and pay for coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization, is accompanied by an offensively narrow religious exemption that effectively covers only formal houses of worship. Countless other employers—such as religious social service providers, schools, and business owners—are forced to pay for the mandated drugs and services regardless of religious or moral objections.

The consequences for non-compliance are steep. Hefty government fines—to the tune of millions of dollars for some companies—threaten not only employers’ religious freedom but their livelihoods.

Many Americans—and certainly the more than 110 plaintiffs suing over the mandate—understand the offensiveness of the rule’s current, miniscule religious exemption. But concern over the mandate’s assault on religious freedom isn’t merely caused by the narrowness of this particular religious exemption. The root of the mandate’s disregard for Americans’ freedoms is found in the broader coercion of an invasive health care law that dictates what insurance companies must cover, what employers must provide, and what individuals must purchase.

Under a one-size-fits-all, government-controlled health care system, conflicts with religious freedom and individual liberty are only likely to increase.

In a separate Rasmussen poll from earlier this year, more than half of likely voters admitted they hadn’t personally felt any impact of the health care law, much of which won’t be implemented until 2014. Americans have yet to experience the full weight of Obamacare’s countless, liberty-crushing mandates that will crush individual choice in health care and place burdensome costs on businesses and individuals.

The anti-conscience mandate’s assault on religious freedom is only one of the first tastes of Obamacare’s coercive takeover of the health care system. The fact that almost half of likely voters recognize the need to protect employers’ religious freedom should signal greater concern for future dictates from a law that cedes discretion over personal health care decisions and consumer choice to unelected bureaucrats.

Sarah Torre focuses on policy issues related to religious liberty, marriage and family as policy analyst in the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation. Read her research

Look, "Obamacare" only applies to "U.S. citizens" (i.e. government workers) and not ALL American nationals or State Citizens (learn about the 2 classes of citizens in America here). To simply "opt-out", you would have to understand that this is "color of law" legislation. All you really need is a simple AFFIDAVIT to stop all illegal withholdings from your private-sector earnings (because private sector companies cannot pretend to be a government entity [corporation, trade or business, or whatever other term is in law in 26 USC 7701 because this is a violation of 18 USC 912). Whatever the outcome will be, I am already prepared and I know this law doesn't apply to me.

Here are just a few court cases that support this (there are many, many more):

"Words having universal scope, such as 'every contract in restraint of trade,' 'every person who shall monopolize,' etc., will be taken, as a matter of course, to mean only everyone subject to such legislation, not all that the legislator subsequently may be able to catch."
– American Banana Co. v. United Fruit Co., 213 U.S. 347 (1909)

"In the interpretation of statutes levying taxes it is the established rule not to extend their provisions, by implication, beyond the clear import of the language used, or to enlarge their operations so as to embrace matters not specifically pointed out. In case of doubt they are construed most strongly against the government, and in favor of the citizen."
– Gould v. Gould, 245 U.S. 151 (1917)

Secondly, if churches or other religious "organizations" think they are going to "opt-out", they're in for a rude eye-awakening. Almost ALL CHURCHES in America today have been tricked into thinking they have to be a 503(c) Corporation in order to have "exemption status" from taxes (a big fat lie). They go along with this because of the huge grants the government gives them to keep their mouths shut about political issues. Your "shepherds" (pastors) have been leading the "sheeple" to the wolves for a long time, and it isn't going to stop anytime soon.

Freedom isn't for everyone. You have to understand law before you can be free from it.

I have lost all faith in any poll and most specifically polls of a lazy and ill-informed electorate.If they are so upset and "anti" whatever, Why didn't they vote the fraud and sociopathic Communist out when they had the chance? We have become a nation of whiners!
I'm ready to move to Israel!

Health care is the best interesting for everyone's needed.
I wish all of the illness patient and elder patient will have a good care and good benefit for them for treatment, equality and none discrimination. Freedom speech, democracy and protect in safe.

I've heard that $26 of our insurance payments will go towards the pot that provides free abortions for others but cannot get any verification from HHS, Medicare or my Medicare supplement company on this amount. Everyone says they 'don't know' the figure! I want to be part of a class action suit on this issue, since my religious beliefs forbid taking life. Since I have not been able yet to find an authorized answer, I've decided to volunteer at a Christian Maternity Center to help young women see that they have lots of choices besides abortions and hopefully that will counter attack any monies I must pay toward abortions on a monthly basis. I want to stand before my GOD without the stigma of helping others pay to kill their babies but it appears that I cannot refuse or get an answer on this part of ObamaCare, so I'll be judged as sinful on the one hand, but perhaps be rewarded for my own attempts at mitgating something I have no control over, other than to drop out of medicare and go without medical insurance totally.

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